Considering history, Red Sox World Series repeat unlikely

Friday

Mar 28, 2008 at 12:01 AMMar 28, 2008 at 6:22 PM

It wouldn’t be shocking if Boston became the first team during this century to win consecutive World Series titles. But if the last eight years are any indication of how this season will go another city will get to host a victory parade in the fall.

Art Davidson

It’s commonly assumed throughout New England that the Red Sox will be a playoff participant once again in October.

Boston is certainly one of the elite teams in Major League Baseball, but no club has been able to win successive World Series championships since the advent of the 21st century.

From 1996-2000, the New York Yankees won four World Series titles in a five-year span. Since then, a different team has won the World Series in each season. The Red Sox are the lone team to capture two World Series crowns since the millennium. In both 2004 and 2007, Boston overcame sizable deficits to win the American League pennant and proceeded to sweep their National League opponent in the World Series.

The Yankees have appeared in two World Series since winning their last title, but they were surprised by the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2001 and were shocked by the Florida Marlins in 2003. In those two World Series, a pair of pitchers now with the Red Sox, Curt Schilling (Arizona) and Josh Beckett (Florida), helped prevent New York from winning its 27th championship.

The other teams to win World Series during this decade are the Anaheim Angels in 2002, the Chicago White Sox in 2005 and the St. Louis Cardinals in 2006.

Baseball owners used to complain that the NFL had more parity than their sport because it had a salary cap. Baseball’s militant union has prevented a salary cap from ever being implemented, but it can be argued that there is more parity in baseball now than in any previous decade.

“Certain teams are going to have an advantage because of how much money they are able to generate,” said first-year Los Angeles Dodgers manager Joe Torre, who led the Yankees to 12 consecutive playoff appearances before departing after last season. “But every team tries to build from within. The Oakland A’s have had a lot of success because of their farm system even though they might not have as much money as New York or Boston.

“And in a short series any team can win if it gets good pitching. When I was with the Yankees, Arizona beat us in the 2001 World Series and Florida beat us in the 2003 World Series primarily because both teams received excellent starting pitching.”

The White Sox ended their own curse by winning the 2005 World Series, which gave the South Side of Chicago its first championship since 1917. The White Sox began their playoff run in 2005 by sweeping the Red Sox in the Division Series. However, Chicago hasn’t been a playoff participant for the last two seasons.

“So many things can happen which can prevent a team from winning,” White Sox general manager Ken Williams said. “We went into the 2006 season thinking that we might be even a stronger team, but things didn’t work out the way we thought they would. Some of it was because of injuries and some of had to do with the fact that some players didn’t perform the way we hoped they would. You can analyze things all you want on a computer, but the bottom line is that the game is played by humans.”

Some of the teams that have won World Series during this decade weren’t built for long-term success, especially Arizona and to even a great degree Florida.

“I think it’s important that a team has stability from the top to the bottom if it’s going to win on a consistent basis,” Torre said. “That’s one of the things we are striving for with the Dodgers. Everyone isn’t always going to agree on everything, and they shouldn’t, but everyone needs to be committed to winning.”

The Dodgers play in the nation’s second-biggest market, possess plenty of money and have a loyal fan base, but Los Angeles hasn’t won a postseason series since capturing the 1988 World Series.

The Red Sox endured two mediocre seasons by their current standards following their victory in the 2004 World Series. Boston earned the American League wild-card berth in 2005, something it also did in 2004, but lasted just three games against Chicago in the playoffs. In 2006, the Red Sox didn’t make the playoffs and were even edged out for second place in the AL East by the Toronto Blue Jays.

“Some of the players who helped the Red Sox win in 2004 moved on after the season, whether it was through free agency or through trades,” said Oakland reliever Alan Embree, who was a member of the ’04 Red Sox. “Pedro Martinez signed with the New York Mets after we won the World Series. I started the 2005 season with Boston, ended up getting released and was signed by New York. I was part of the Red Sox team which came back to beat the Yankees in the 2004 ALCS. Less than a year later I was pitching against the Red Sox and for the Yankees. Things can change pretty quickly for a team.”

The Red Sox should be among the most successful teams for at least the next several seasons. The franchise is one of the most profitable in sports and the current owners aren’t reluctant to spend the money needed to keep the club in title contention on a yearly basis.

Under the guidance of general manager Theo Epstein, Boston’s farm system has become much more productive in recent years. The Red Sox have a nice mix of veterans stars and exciting young players. Boston entered the season with no discernable weaknesses, despite the loss of Schilling for at least half the season.

It wouldn’t be shocking if Boston became the first team during this century to win consecutive World Series titles. But if the last eight years are any indication of how this season will go another city will get to host a victory parade in the fall.

Art Davidson is a Daily News staff writer. He can be reached at 508-626-4403 or adavidson@cnc.com.